Craig Whyte
| Craig Thomas Whyte | |
|---|---|
| Born |
18 January 1971 Motherwell, Scotland |
| Residence | London |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | Venture capitalist |
Craig Thomas Whyte (born 18 January 1971) is a Scottish businessman best known for his controversial spell as owner of Scottish football club Rangers.
Whyte first entered business in a plant hire company, after which he moved into security, manufacturing and property. He bought the controlling interest in Rangers Football Club Plc from its then majority shareholder David Murray in May 2011, and subsequently put the company into administration in February 2012 and then liquidation in July 2012.
Born in Motherwell, Whyte was educated at Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow. When he was 15, Whyte took an interest in financial markets, and made more than £20,000 buying and selling shares before he left school.
Whyte's first job was with his father's plant hire firm, and in 1990 he set up his own plant-hire company. The company, Whyte Hire, was not a success and went bankrupt in the early 1990s with debts of around £300,000. Whyte recovered from this loss and branched out into security, manufacturing and property. In 1997, aged 26, he was Scotland's youngest self-made millionaire. After selling off most of his businesses, he moved to Monaco. When he moved back to the UK (to London), he became a venture capitalist. The London-based group he heads, Liberty Capital, specialises in buying distressed businesses, turning them around, and selling them on.
Whyte was a lifelong supporter of Rangers Football Club and held an executive box at Ibrox Stadium. Speculation arose in 2010 that he might launch a bid to buy the indebted Scottish football club. In April 2011, a £28 million deal was thought possible, but this was dependent on agreement with Lloyds Banking Group on how the club's debt would be serviced and a tax assessment of, potentially, £49 million from HM Revenue and Customs. In May 2011 Whyte said he was confident that the club would win the tax tribunal case and there would be no liability for Rangers to pay.
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